What's not to like?

In September, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit held an employee terminated
for liking the campaign page of his boss's political rival had engaged in constitutionally
protected speech under the First Amendment. Although the case involved only public
employees, the 4th Circuit's ruling in Bland v. Roberts is likely to inform other
court and/or agency decisions seeking to assign legal significance to various forms
of social media activity and may have a lasting and far-reaching effect on private-sector
employers, as well.

The decision

In 2009, Sheriff B.J. Roberts of the Hampton Sheriff Department in Virginia ran
for re-election to his post after serving as sheriff for 17 years. He was opposed
by Jim Adams, a longtime lieutenant colonel in the same office, who resigned to
run for election. During the campaign, two sheriff's deputies, Daniel Carter and
Robert McCoy, expressed their support for Adams rather than Roberts via Facebook.
Specifically, in late summer of 2009, Carter "liked" Adams' Facebook campaign page
and authored and posted a message of encouragement. McCoy also posted an entry indicating
his support for Adams' candidacy though he did not "Like" the Facebook page. Word
of the two employees' Facebook activity spread quickly among others in the office
and eventually reached Roberts.

Soon after learning of Carter and McCoy's Facebook activity, Roberts addressed his
employees' support for Adams in several speeches he gave during various shift changes
at the office. He expressed displeasure with the decision of some to support Adams
and specifically communicated his disapproval of those who had endorsed Adams through
Facebook. During one of these meetings, Roberts declared he would be sheriff for
as long as he wanted and stated anyone who openly supported Adams would lose his
or her job. Notably, after the meeting that occurred before Carter's shift, Roberts
angrily approached Carter and told him: "You made your bed, and now you're going
to lie in it. After the election, you're gone."

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